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Monday, 22 September 2014

Choux is one of those things I have been meaning to try but have been discouraged by one too many television disasters. If my first attempt is anything to go by, it really isn't hard, and given the relatively cheap ingredients making up the batter, you can afford to have a couple of goes if you aren't blessed with beginner's luck.

Since it was my first foray into choux I decided to go for the whole caboodle of a flavoured creme patissiere filling rather than simply whipping some cream. I personally much prefer this type since the cream filling is far to reminiscent of the supermarket version.

I used the basic recipes for choux and creme patisseire in Prue Leith's 'How to Cook' - a fantastic self teaching cook book that I would thoroughly recommend. The step by step photographs are particularly reassuring with something like choux pastry which, though not particularly difficult, requires a rather different technique and looks pretty strange/inedible at certain points!

The blueberry and violet flavour combination is excellent, with the potent berry taste of the icing faintly underlined with floral notes. These flavours can however, easily be substituted with whatever you like. I would quite like to experiment with a coffee and aniseed filling and chocolate icing next time...

See the recipe I used below (from Leith but with flavourings added) and an icing recipe of my own.

Choux Pastry Recipe (makes around 16 eclairs)

Ingredients:

220ml water

85g butter105g plain flour, well sifted

a pinch of salt1 teaspoon sugar

3 eggs, beaten

Method:

1. Put the butter (chopped into small pieces) and water into a saucepan. Heat slowly to melt the butter then turn up the heat and bring to a rolling boil. Sieve the flour, salt and sugar three times. (As soon as the rolling boil is reached you want to get the flour in to stop too much water evaporating, so have your flour, ready-sieved, ready in a jug to pour in as quickly as possible.)

2. When the mixture is boiling really fast, tip in all the flour with the salt and remove the pan from the heat.

3. Working as fast as you can, beat the mixture hard with a wooden spoon(no electric mixers yet - and you might want to start with a few slower stirs to incorporate the flour rather than sending it puffing across the kitchen): it will soon become thick and smooth and leave the sides of the pan. This mixture is called the panade. (At first the mixture will look lumpy and vile. Within 20 seconds it looks thick and smooth.)

4. Spread the paste (panade) over a plate with the wooden spoon in a thin layer to cool to room temperature. (This takes a few minutes only. You can wash up or get your eggs ready while you are waiting.)

5. When the mixture is at room temperature or thereabouts, return it to the pan and start adding the eggs a little at a time, beating after each addition. (This is where you use your electric whisk unless you want to build your biceps, or don't have one, or are a Leith's student, in which case use a wooden spoon).

You might not need all the eggs. The mixture should be of (reluctant) dropping consistency - not too runny. Dropping consistency means that the mixture will fall off a spoon rather reluctantly and all in a blob; if it runs off, it is too wet (start again), and if it will not fall off even when the spoon is jerked slightly, it is too thick (add more egg).6. To cook the eclairs, heat the oven to 200 degrees celsius. 7. Put the mixture into a piping bag with a 7-8mm nozzle and sausages around 6-7cm long. There are quite a few useful youtube videos for this. Pipe the eclairs around 5cm apart from each other. 8. Bake in the top third of the oven for 20-30 minutes until well-risen and puffed, and a deep golden brown all over, checking after 20 minutes (no earlier or they may collapse). The choux buns should also be very firm to the touch on the base where they sit on the baking tray. If they are soft and pale golden, cook for longer.

9. Remove from the oven and lower the temperature to 170 degrees celsius. While hot, use a skewer to make a hole in the side about 5mm in diameter to allow the steam to escape. Place the eclairs back in the oven for 5-6 minutes to dry the insides. Take out and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely

Method1. Put the milk in a saucepan. Scald, by gently heating until steaming. Just before it bubbles, take off the heat and remove any skin that forms2. Put the egg yolks and sugar in a medium bowl and mix well. Add a splash of scalded milk, then the flours. Mix well to combine and ensure there are no lumps. Gradually stir in the remaining milk3. Return the mixture to a clean saucepan and place over a low medium heat. Bring to the boil, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon. It will go lumpy, but persevere and stir vigorously and it will become smooth. Turn the heat down and simmer for two minutes.4. Remove from the heat and add the violet liqueur to taste (there is a huge variety in the strength of these so please take my measurement as a loose guideline only). Transfer the mix to a bowl and place a disc of greaseproof paper on top, in contact with the surface of the custard, to prevent a skin forming. Set aside to cool. 5. Once cool discard the greaseproof paper with the skin and whisk the creme patisseire until it is soft enough to pipe but still firmBlueberry and Violet IcingIngredients125g blueberries2 tablespoons of sugar3 tablespoons of violet liqueur (to taste!)240g icing sugarMethodBoil the blueberries down with the sugar, stirring occasionally and making sure they do not burn until you have a nice thick coulis. Sieve the blueberries for a smooth sauce. Add the violet liqueur and then work in the sieved icing sugar until you have an icing that will not run down the sides of the eclair when you dip it in (add more icing sugar if it is too runny)Assembling the eclairs...When the eclair pastry is cooked and cooled, pipe the mixture in through a hole in the side of the eclair. Finally, dip the eclairs in the icing for a smooth finish and leave the icing to set

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Friday, 19 September 2014

Michelin starred Italian restaurant Locanda Locateli is undergoing refurbishment this month. In the meantime, rather than twiddle his thumbs, Georgio has set up a pizza and pasta pop-up - Locadeli - around the corner in Marylebone.

The menu is simple and super cheap for Locatelli quality. You can choose from a handful of starters, around ten pizza dishes and three pasta dishes (around £12 each). Everything we tried was delicious and quite a bit more interesting that your average Margherita.

Georgio's favourite - the Calabrese - was described by one of my dinner guests as 'a life changing experience'. It was damn good; spicy spreadable sausage 'nduja' and that heavenly cousin of mozzarella 'burrata' strewn over a thin, tomatoey pizza base... I just can't get enough. Other highlights have to be the chestnut tagliatelle with wild mushrooms and a devilishly boozy rum baba. Needless to say I will be back in there soon to get another fix.

My accessory twins!

Unlike so many London 'pop-ups' this venture is popping back down again on the 4th October so you had better get in soon if you want a slice of the pizza action.

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Monday, 15 September 2014

We recently returned from our cousin’s beautiful
wedding in Sissi Castle just outside Budapest. I (Flo speaking) went a week early and quickly
settled in the Astoria neighbourhood, and found a lot to love about the city.
Between the two of us, we discovered a lot of great places that we think you’d
enjoy too, so here is our little black book...

Where to stay:

I found Kriztina’s place on Airbnb and quickly made it my
home away from home. Every morning, as the sun came through the French blinds, I’d walk out on the balcony to a view of the National Gallery
Museum.

The lovely old marble stairwell to get back down to the street

Having tasted a lot of bad coffee in Budapest, I realise how lucky I was to have Fekete just downstairs, which serves a beautifully sweet blend of ‘Elixir’ coffee roasted in Alchemy near St. Paul’s in London. A little birdie also tells me that Butter Brothers round the corner do fantastic pastries but I never woke up in time for breakfast!

Where to eat:None of us are the biggest fans of hearty stews, dumplings, paprika
or dill, but, with
a little research and advance planning, we ate like kings. This may have had something to do with the fact that we could actually afford the Michelin starred restaurants there - the two we tried were divine and under
£50 a head with (very good) wine. Book ahead and you will not be disappointed...Borkonyha Wine Kitchen

I am very excited about what comes next!

Duck liver with peas and pickled cherries

Baked mangalica pork with watercress, ginger and mushroom

The venison daily special - my favourite dish

Daily special desert of white chocolate and raspberries - looks simple but was ambrosia on a plate...

We went here for my birthday meal and they were absolutely charming (birthday card on the table, a surprise birthday cake and even a special macaron for mum who can't eat dairy). It was tricky to get this booking but they moved everything around to fit me in an called me in person to tell me the good news! There is a fantastic lunch menu that starts from around £17 and is so delicious you'll be planning your next visit as soon as you leave.

Home baked breads

Tuna and tomato raw salad

Goose liver, sour cherry, loaf

Deconstructed Goulash Soup

We drank a beautifully creamy white - the Percze Furmint - Szent Tamás winery 2011 - so good I bought a load to bring back

Budapest has plenty of great sightseeing. The city wears its history still so there's a lot of contemporary and older graffiti still around making for an unusual mixmatch aesthetic. Whether you're in a historic old area or a more run down place, there's plenty to see and to photograph...

Lens off

The castle

View from the Castle

Another view of Pest from the Buda Castle area

Mother, daughter heart to heart

Love these post boxes and all the detail from the windows to the woodwork

View from Margaret Bridge

Taking in the rough with the smooth

... but some of the less obvious things to do that we loved were...The open air opera on Margaret Island. While Budapest is known for its opera - the season is pretty much finished in August. The Open Air Opera on the island does however continue to do a few shows later on. We saw a hilariously kitsch, beautifully sung rendition of Verdi's Aida with Hungarian subtitles (thank god for the internet!) and it was lovely to see the whole thing while the sun set.

When you're in Buda, you should also look out for the small sculpture gallery gardens hidden down back streets that are free to come into. This one was particularly picturesque and a quiet haven away from the tourists on the street.

Another thing we very much enjoyed was wine tasting at Cultivini. Much like Hedonism in London, they have a machine that keeps the wine sealed so you to taste some pretty amazing ones. After tasting, we bought what wines we could from a Bortarsasag shop which is better value for buying.

Another fantastic place to taste wine (see Figula Winery), and have a lovely day out is lake Balaton. Only a couple of hours away, it is the perfect place for a day trip or an overnight stay. We went to Balatonfured and it was idyllic - think beautiful lakes, fantastic views and wonderful food.

Franciska Grill - a very traditional restaurant with most delicious goulash (everything else was pretty mediocre)

Flo and Elle Budapest where to stay what to see where to eat best restaurants in Budapest Hungary Flo and Elle Budapest where to stay what to see where to eat best restaurants in Budapest HungaryFlo and Elle Budapest where to stay what to see where to eat best restaurants in Budapest HungaryFlo and Elle Budapest where to stay what to see where to eat best restaurants in Budapest HungaryFlo and Elle Budapest where to stay what to see where to eat best restaurants in Budapest HungaryFlo and Elle Budapest where to stay what to see where to eat best restaurants in Budapest HungaryFlo and Elle Budapest where to stay what to see where to eat best restaurants in Budapest HungaryFlo and Elle Budapest where to stay what to see where to eat best restaurants in Budapest HungaryFlo and Elle Budapest where to stay what to see where to eat best restaurants in Budapest HungaryFlo and Elle Budapest where to stay what to see where to eat best restaurants in Budapest HungaryFlo and Elle Budapest where to stay what to see where to eat best restaurants in Budapest HungaryFlo and Elle Budapest where to stay what to see where to eat best restaurants in Budapest Hungary